Reset
by Habato
Summary: Clockwork, the Ghost of Time, all-seeing, all-knowing, in control. Not for long. When a certain lovably-annoying Time Lord is dumped into his universe, he can't tell what will happen any more. Now he just wants the get rid of the Doctor, and the Doctor...well, he's just going a long for the ride, so far. Non-slash.
1. Clearing Known Data

AN: Don't kill me if you wanted another chapter of Vlad's Problem with Cats! ^^; I've had a hard time with that one.

So, this is a chapter of this...thingy i've spent HOURS daydreaming the stories and plots and things.(Literally, one day i just sat in my armchair and did NOTHING except for think about this, TV off, house quiet, barely talking, just sitting and THINKING. Should do it more often.)

It's been in my head for, oh, maybe about last fall, the beginning of the school year. I can't remember. But, it's been in there a good LONG while, not just a month, and i keep coming back to it and finally i gathered strength to show it to people.

SOO, i present to you my BABY, i've been working on this a while, and it's been through a LOT of edits and re-writes, both on paper and in my head, and it's still going on WAY past this first adventure, if anybody cares to show interest, i'll post them ALL.

also, the title is... tentative. Last second. I can think of every minute detail to interlock, but when i get to upload and i see the title space, i go complete blank. Any better suggestions, go ahead!

Oh, and one more thing, jsyk, THIS IS NOT, AND NEVER WILL BE, SLASH.

Please read and review, they give me POWER which leads to UPDATES!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Doctor Who respectively.

Ch 1

Clearing Known Data

A tower resting in the deepest part of the Ghost Zone. The ticks and tocks of clocks was ever-present, slow and deep, faint and fast. One being floated alone, the glow of the screen of the viewer bright in the faded light that radiated from the very air of the Zone. The only other glow was from his red eyes, startling against his blue skin and the scar that trailed down over his left eye. But it did not matter. He hardly left his tower anyway.

Clockwork watched as the snowy-haired ghost boy, Danny Phantom, dived into an ally as he flew and landed, turning into his raven-haired alter ego. Fenton shot a look to the sky, jumping behind a dumpster for good measure when the news helicopter passed overhead. It was unnecessary, but the hounds of the press grated the nerves of even the most steadfast man.

Clockwork allowed himself a smirk, thinking to himself of how trouble seemed to follow the boy like a dog trailed a steak in the hand of its master. Danny at least had the advantage of an alias at this particular point in time.

_Vwooorp. Vwooooorp. Vwooorp._

The screen blinked black. The sound was barely there before the time stream blurred, a beautiful painting that had been doused with water. It's caretaker was not spared. The Ghost of Time, attacked in his only weakness, the very time stream itself. The past was not in stone, for the stone was now but clay to be molded as long as one wished. The future, it's possibilities, the chances and decisions Clockwork influenced, controlled, watched, _protected;_ his omniscience was ripped from him and he could do nothing. Nothing but nurse his head in his hands, silently writhing in his mind in the pain that burned like an inferno through his thoughts, through his core. He was not used to pain, and never a pain such as this; would it never stop? Then, like a switch flipped, as if someone had snapped their fingers and made it so, it froze. No more pain, just nothingness. No more ticking. No more past, nothing but his best guesses at the future. All was malleable, nothing was fixed. Nothing he could feel, at least.

The sudden emptiness, he couldn't believe it. The sound of the time stream was soft and scared, hurt and changing. He couldn't touch it, for fear of damaging it more. He couldn't find the cause from here, he couldn't fix this he-

He couldn't cope. No powers. No clairvoyance. But the single blessing was that there were no-

"CLOCKWORK!"

Observants, two of them from what he could sense. They swept in the room like a un-wanted gust of wind, livid and wild. He could feel it already, the anger, hiding their fear, the terribly covered emotions radiating from their cores letting him read them in a way one just couldn't read a human. Their feelings were one thing, but their thoughts were another.

"The time-stream-"

"Has disappeared, I know." He interrupted with a growl, turning on them with a swish of his cape behind him. They only responded with silent glares at his rude greeting. To hell with manners, they weren't the ones connected to the very time stream.

His hand gripped his staff with a white-knuckled grip, holding back the urge to collapse and nurse his lingering migraine. Weakness wasn't allowed, at least he wouldn't allow it. Even though they had yet to abuse any weakness, Clockwork had this deep-seated instinct to never give them a chance. They were manipulative, and it was only his power over them that kept them in line and him sane. Yet, it was also his power that made them interested in him in the first place. Weakness would mean they would gain the confidence to do something. Their numbers and his power forever had them at a gridlock that they grudgingly agreed to make a peace contract.

With a huff, Clockwork glanced back at the screen, still shrouded in black. "For once, I don't know _why._ The only thing I know is that it was cause, followed or was accompanied by a sound I've never heard before."

"That can't be possible!"

"Surely you know something more!"

"All that I know is that in was in Amity, near by the area where the boy was, at the time." Clockwork sighed, loosening his grip as the migraine slowed more. "Danny might find the source, but I cannot look to see what it is."

"An informant then?"

"I couldn't contact them, and who would I send to face an unknown enemy?" He paused, the Observants huffing at his apparent uselessness. They turned to each other, bickering under their breaths.

Clockwork pondered the predicament silently, turning away from the planning Observants. No one reliable to send, no one that could handle themselves. Useless here, and the Observants certainly wouldn't go do anything.

"Perhaps _I_ could go-"

"What!" They interrupted, shocked out of their bickering.

"Clockwork, you cannot directly interfere!"

Clockwork's face fell into a frown. "Than who will? It's unknown, and you honestly trust any other in the affairs of time? Anyone else I send could possibly make matters worse, since _none_ understand the matter as we do. And you never leave the Observatory, save to make me to do your dirty work."

The Observants gave him daggers, glaring better than one would think they could with only one eye. "You will **not** interfere with this!"

"Then what would you have be done to fix this?" He said slowly.

They glanced at one another. "If the boy is there, perhaps he could handle it. Send a scout, if you cannot see either."

Clockwork scowled, looking from one identical ghost to the other. Nothing he could say would end how he wanted it to. "Fine."

Without dismissal they nodded, and left without a word. Probably off to argue about the anomaly. That's all they ever do, argue amongst themselves.

Clockwork floated silently, stirring in his thoughts. He couldn't sense the Observants any more, and if he couldn't see anything, it meant neither could they. He had barely ever gone against them, it was too much trouble to banter with their idiocy, but this was too important; it was too personal.

With a small smirk that bespoke mischief, he attempted to teleport into the human realm. But something went wrong, as the fates chose to do when something was already wrong and they wanted it to be worse. It was not Clockwork who was usually the brunt of their trip-ups, so he did not expect it. His staff was ripped from his hands, his core suppressed from some odd force, taking away what power was left after the previous oddity. When the ghost appeared in the mortal plane, he was dumped unceremoniously onto the ground, like a trouble-maker kicked out from a building, unable to right himself before he met hard earth.

As Clockwork pushed himself up, it did not take him long to take a guess as to who had hid the trap for him.

"_Observants!"_ He cursed in his head. They must know him much too well for his liking. Because he would not accept that he was that predictable.

A suppressed core left him with no powers. No powers meant no flying, and also no spectral tail. Which left him with legs, and, apparently, a default disguise that his form adapted when he was thrust into the human's world without the power to defend himself. Fairly normal, just a T shirt under a hoodie, dark jeans and black boots. No more blue skin, pale white and dark brown hair, but he couldn't tell was his eye were, or if his scar was covered. He assumed it wasn't.

Gathering his wits from the unsuspected mishap, he quickly realized that at least he was in Amity Park, and even with the disturbance he had landed only one alley away from where he assumed the problem appeared. And, if his intuition was right, it had thrown him about five minutes before that sound had started. Ah, yes, the news helicopter flew overhead a second later, and Clockwork stumbled on his new legs towards the place in question.

Just as he got to the entrance of the alley, there was Danny, stepping out from behind the dumpster. It should be only min-

_Vwooorp. Vwooooorp. Vwooorp_

It was just as bad the second time. Technically, it was the first time if you wanted to think of it from Danny's point of view. But Clockwork couldn't help but gasp as being so close to the source, so close to the ripping and changing of _his_ time stream, struck him through his core, through his connection with Time. He leaned on the wall, trying not to collapse completely.

"Hey, are you okay? Sir?" And there was Danny, as kindhearted as ever, not two feet from him.

Clockwork caught his breath, which in retrospect, wasn't really necessary.

"Sir? Do you need help?"

Clockwork paused before looking up at the boy, nodding. "I'm fine, Daniel."

"What-" He tensed, stepping back. Oh, shoot, that was right, disguise. If random stranger knew your name, that would be startling. His stance went defensive, ready to fight. "Who are you?"

Clockwork couldn't help the smirk. "What, the scar doesn't give it away?" The boy was really confused now, but it eventually clicked.

"Clockwork? Why are you-?" He held up a hand stopping him.

"Maybe later. In all honesty, I didn't come to see you, Danny." Danny opened his mouth to respond, but Clockwork just interrupted again. "Really. Right now, you should be going home. Already late, are you not? Just go, everything is fine."

"But-" Danny stammered, barely moving until the ghost started to shoo him away.

"Just go, Daniel. You are in enough trouble with your parents as it is."

Danny hesitated, glancing back every few steps, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. Clockwork watched the boy go with a small smile. It was a show of the respect Danny held for him that he hadn't resisted more, stubborn as he was.

The sound of a squeaking door opening and closing with a bang echoed in the ally, wiping that train of thought away. Clockwork scowled at he marched to the sound's source. Around the corner, a large, blue, 1960's British Police Box stood where he knew it wasn't ten minutes ago, hardly 10 feet away.

An aura came off of the box, something akin to what a ghost's core did, but more of a mental consciousness than an energy signal, though he felt that too. It felt old, odd, and not quite _there_, in the time stream at least. It…seemed to waver a bit, not quite as stable temporally as it looked physically.

The man standing in front of it caught his attention, then, when his curious consciousness brushed his. He had felt the mental capacity in his head, the openness that gave the ability for telepathic connection. Not human, at least, not a _normal_ human. Few mortals had such self-aware telepathic ability that he seemed to have. They caught eyes, and that made the feeling of power coming from the man's mind magnify as he looked into the too-old brown eyes. The surprise there probably meant he could tell Clockwork had some ability himself, though few other humans or ghosts could even notice, let alone communicate with him. But this man seemed eager to try, but held back out of, from what brushed past, politeness and caution, barely holding back his excitement.

The excitement burst forth in a spark in his eyes, his face lighting with it into a broad, childish smile.

"'Allo there!" He called out, English accent marking his speech. He stepped forward, bouncing on his toes with restrained electric curiosity. His tan trench coat he wore flowed with him, on top of his blue-pinstriped suit, contrasting with his red tie and chuck tailors. "Sorry to bother, but I think I might be lost, had a bit of a night with the boys, mind telling be where I am?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow, skeptic. If that sounded authentic, he was a human. "In the middle of Amity Park."

He nodded, understanding on his face. "Ah, right." He paused, then scrunched up his eyebrows. "And where is that?"

The ghost frowned. "Illinois, of course."

"Ah, right right, of course, Illinois. America, the good ol' U.S. of A! Haven't been here in a while." He ranted, stepping forward again, hands in his pockets. A couple times, he almost half turned, looking next to him or over his shoulder- he was missing somebody who recently left, if any guess could be made. But still, every time his eyes wandered they quickly came back to catch Clockwork's.

"Was a nice trip last time I came. Well," He stretched the word into syllables, rolling it in his mouth as it came. "It wasn't horrible- Weeell, no, I suppose it was an experience at least. A bad one at that, found and old…friend, had a bit of a spat." That train of thought seemed to sober him up, but he seemed to shake it off and smile again.

"But that's over for now, ah, mind if I ask you ah, what year is it?"

Clockwork scowled now, annoyed that this man was so ignorant. "It's 2007. Also, since you probably don't know the date, it's June 19th."

The man nodded, coming within a yard with another few steps. "Ah, right, okay. Uh, if it's not too much trouble, just, one more question." He looked him right in the eye, and the smile dimmed, remaining there halfheartedly. "Who are you? That mind, you probably aren't human. No offence if you are, just I haven't met any real psychics that look as powerful as you that were completely human. _Maybe_ one, but I think she might have had a telepathic enhancing device she hid under her hat." He was serious now, and maybe a little hopeful- for what, Clockwork couldn't tell, but it was desperate.

He raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed now. "If at this point I told you I _am_ human, would you believe me?"

Pause. "Prolly not, but I thought I'd give you the chance. And If I tried the same?"

"Not a chance."

They both smiled now, just a little. The man ran a hand through his messy brown hair, making it stick up even more before he held said hand out to shake.

"Well then, want to try this again?" He smiled, eyes lighting up. "'Allo there, I'm the Doctor."

The ghost looked at the hand, thinking. "Clockwork." He replied, taking the offered appendage

Then the connection flooded his thoughts.


	2. Data Transfer

**AN: OH MY GOD YOU GUUUUUYS! You're all so awesome! Some of the reviews I've gotten just made me beam and squeal and the people in the room with me give me very worried looks! XD Really. **

**Okay, so, also, I apparently got the definitions of 'omnipotent' and 'omniscient' mixed up, so I went back and changed that in the last chapter, as well as little things that really don't need to be re-read. 'omnipotent' means all powerful, but I was going for 'omniscient' which means all seeing. Clockwork is definitely the latter, not so much the first. ^^; Also, can I just say, when the Doctor get's excited HE IS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE! Honestly, I think 10's my favorite because we act the same when we get excited. :D That's why its so easy for me to write for him.**

**Also, I apparently got some of the ol' Time Lord physiology wrong, as such their mental capacity when it comes to mind reading. They have that telepathy thing with other time lords, and other creatures only with physical touch, so…yeah. Dunno what to say about the last chapter, I'm just going to say it was Clockwork's more, not **_**open**_** per se, but more **_**ranged**_** telepathic abilities, added to the whole 'ghost core being-sensing' thing. I have no idea how either would affect any telekinetic abilities with him. |D Also, there was a review I couldn't reply to on my 'Grandfather's Consolation' about the Doctor being thousands of years old, so, 1- He was YOUNG when he **_**implied **_**that, and probably trying to sound important, and 2- one of the oldest Time Lords known was like 15000 years old and going **_**senile**_**, and the Doctor is and was still considered **_**young**_**, so, yeah. Also, Clockwork is, as I mention later in here as I think it, OLD. Like, old as dirt, hundred-thousand-years old. So, yeah, Clockwork is old enough to be ANYONE'S so-many-greats grandfather, even the Doctor's. as I see it. **

**Okay, dang, this is getting long, time to wrap it up and start the show(I ramble. A lot. Thanks, Doctor Who, that's your fault!). ^^ Haven't don't this before, but greatest thanks to: wizardalexmix, snowlepard0, LetsWriteNow, and myra the fox, for the really **_**spirited**_** responses! :D It makes me SO HAPPY for other people to as excited about my story as I am to write it and see it come to life.**

**MILD LANGUAGE WARNING! It WILL get worse as time goes on, especially for Clockwork and other characters to appear later on! (I mean like the words d mn, he!, etc(only censoring them here,), but almost NEVER the f-word. I won't ever use the f-word.) THIS WARNING WITLL NOT BE SAID AGAIN FOR THE CURSE-WORD-HATERS.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Doctor Who or Danny Phantom, because the latter would still be on air with WAY more CW, and the former would still if at all possible have the 10****th**** regeneration. XD**

Chapter 2: Data Transfer

The Doctor was pretty sure when he stepped out of the TARDIS that he wasn't in the same universe anymore. Wasn't _nearly_ as bad as the last time, the TARDIS was perfectly fine, but he could tell from the air, if not from the scanners- there was something odd to it, he couldn't put his finger on it though, and neither could the TARDIS immediately. He was going to explore while the scanners studied the information, but meeting someone right out of the doors was fine too. If he was having any doubts about alternate dimensions, they went away when he shook hands with the mysterious mister Clockwork.

He felt it, like a tidal wave, unable to stop it, and he guessed the two of them were in the same boat together. Information, words, a flash or two of feelings and images, but the words, words, _words, words! _The information, he felt and heard both those leaving and coming in, overwhelming even _his_ mind-

_Ghosts, hunters, ectoplasm, Phantom -an image, white-haired boy-, Observants -annoyance-, Guys in White, Time, Ghost of Time, old, HIM -anger, fear, worry-, Ghost Zone, clock tower -a tenuous feeling of home- power, knowledge, confusion, anger, loneliness-_

_-Rose -love, sadness, guilt, anger-, Time Lord, Gallifrey -guilt, rage, love-, Rose -again-, old, Bad Wolf, Daleks -even more rage and guilt-, Time, time and space travel, TARDIS -lovely. lonely, living home, the blue box, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space- regenerations, Rose, Rose, Rose, GUILT, running, terror, rage, sadness, loneliness-_

_-Clockwork._

_-the Doctor._

They broke apart, collapsing on their knees as their heavy breathing echoes in the alley. Everything else in the world seemed to go silent, as even the sound of traffic from down the road was muted, and the birds dared not sing. It stretched, both of them quieting the storms of information, trying to hear themselves think even in the silence, not even chancing to look at the other.

Finally, they looked back at each other, noise tentatively returning to the background of life around them. Nothing was disturbed in the alley to give any indication of what had just happened. Only the adrenaline in their blood and the new words flowing through their head told them the incident wasn't imagined.

The Doctor swallowed, coughed, "Well, that was-"

"Strange." Clockwork finished gruffly.

The Doctor blinked, rolling his shoulders. "I was going to say interesting, but strange is good. Did you hear-?"

"Memories, information, feelings on said things?" Clockwork finished again, standing. "Though, I only have ideas as to what caused it."

Grunting, the Doctor stood with him. "Yep, but I think we might be thinking the same thing. And, I have a way to check!" Now unperturbed and gaining momentum again, he smiled and motioned the ghost- if what he had heard was right- to the TARDIS doors. Still smiling, he turned and walked to them.

He heard a long pause before the footsteps started following him. Not waiting much, he opened the doors, and walked in to allow the follower to enter. Clockwork didn't even pause when he walked in and up the stairs, only stopping to study the console. Right, ghost, very unimpressed with bigger-on-the-inside technology apparently.

"This is a…TARDIS, yes?" He asked, slowly walking around the console and ignoring everything but it. He sounded a bit like he wasn't used to asking the questions- understandable, if anything he was able to piece together told him anything. "A _time machine?_" He choked on the word, something between confusion and anger catching on his voice.

The Doctor frowned, weighing his words for once. "Well, time and space, actually, but yes. Honestly, you're the first one in a while who's cared more about the travel bit rather than the bigger-on-the-inside bit first off."

He grunted, sparing him a glance. "There's gobs of floating doors in the Ghost Zone that open into anything from a room to a mansion while only taking up the space of the door itself. A police box with an extra dimension inside it isn't that surprising." He stopped across the console from him, suddenly staring right at him. " Disregarding the fact that all of this technology is thousands of years ahead of this time." He held the glare a moment on the Doctor's surprised face. His whole upper body slumped, the sigh loud in the large room. He collapsed on the seat behind him, eyes closed, and the Doctor wondered if he had known the seat was behind him. "I had really hoped it's be longer before I had to deal with damn time travelers."

The Doctor's frown deepened, brow furrowing in confusion, and not a small amount of anger.

"Oi!" He cried. "I'm not that bad! There's plenty of people who would disagree," He muttered before continuing, "but at least I'm not some human prancing about and causing paradoxes and whatnot!" Even though he did that, too. "Anyhow, why should you care so much?" He paused as the ghost glared at him again, eyes having turned red. "That's a bit scary, nice try. But, ah- look, I'm sure we shared a lot with that memory-swap oddity, but I can't piece everything together from names and assumptions." _Even though I've had to before a million times. _he added mentally.

Clockwork's eyes dimmed somewhat as he breathed out, calming down. "Fine. Ask away." He apparently did _not_ like asking the questions himself.

"Right then, name's simple, and I'm going to take a quick leap-"

"Is this going to be more of you talking to yourself than actually asking me questions?"

"Probably yes- I'm going to take a leap to guess that 'Ghost of Time' title is yours, yes? Than that 'old' remark probably applies to you- no offence-

"None taken, it's true."

"Great! Love a good puzzle. Anywho, what else? Ghosts, obviously you, but others? So, Ghost Zone would be the home place of ghosts and- _Ectoplasm_! _That's_ what's in the air! But why? Ooh, are these like real ghosts?"

"You've seen the fakes?"

"Not really, mostly aliens, but anyway- Ghosts are made of ectoplasm here then? Okay, so that covers that, but how would ghosts live on Earth, wouldn't their structure eventually disintegrate without a stable environment of ectoplasm, going off of a guess?"

"What, you want a real answer now?" The ghost asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If you could, that would be nice, yes." The Doctor beamed, loving the roll he was on. His mind was just going _click, click, click,_ as he talked and the pieces fell in place. This was always the best part, figuring stuff out.

Clockwork smirked, chuckling under his breath. "The Ghost Zone is the home of ghosts, but it's a bubble dimension tied to the physical plane on Earth- it's made entirely of ectoplasm, sustaining all ghosts."

"_Oooh!_ That's just _brilliant!_ Fantastic, I haven't seen anything like this! Oh, this place must be- OH! _That's _why the air is so permeated with ectoplasm! There must be portals between the worlds, and this town must be where the larger collection of portals open between, letting the ectoplasm leak through!"

"Very good, Doctor." Clockwork chuckled. "A+, done yet?"

"Nearly, I think." He laughed. "Phantom must be an important ghost, he's a ghost child- only fourteen?" He paused, sobering up. "If these are…_real_ ghosts, then he…died at fourteen, correct?"

Clockwork hesitated, realizing the tricky ground. "There are two types of ghosts in general- ghosts of deceased people…and then there's ghosts like myself who simply formed from ectoplasm, imprinted by human consciousness or an element of nature- the latter are usually the most powerful ghosts."

"Ah," The Doctor continued, "Then Phantom must me the latter-"

"He is neither."

This brought the Doctor to a full stop, mouth open for a full minute in thought. "But- he- what?" He gasped, whirling to look at Clockwork.

"It is not my secret to tell." Clockwork dodged. "He is a ghost, but only one of three of his kind, the most powerful of such, and the second, for lack of a better description, _natural_ being of his kind." Clockwork explained without explaining. "He has been in existence for 14 years, but only came to the Ghost Zone's attention two years ago. That is all I will say on the matter, unless you want to ask them."

The Doctor gave him a long, confused look. "Riiight." He drawled, trying to start talking again. "Okay then- ah, The Observants and, ah, _Him_ are ghosts too, I assume?"

"Yes, but _He_ is a…special case, and the Observants like their privacy- the only thing besides our species I share with them."

"Right." The Doctor said abruptly. "And Guys in White sounds like a bad parody of Men in Black, so I assume they're government ghost hunters?"

"Men in what?" Clockwork asked, scowling at him.

"Men in Black! The alien ambassadors for Earth, USA stationed?" He raised an eyebrow. "It's a movie series- totally inaccurate, especially considering Torchwood isn't _nearly_ that diplomatic and you Americans hardly even care past a military standpoint. Come on, don't tell me you don't-" He stopped, studying Clockwork's now extremely confused and mildly frustrated face. "The movies don't exist here, do they? You don't have Men in Black? Well, that explains why the government agency was allowed to be named so closely to a movie franchise."

Clockwork started to life, on his feet in seconds. "Wait, what? No, there are _no_ movies like that ever made! Although, that would eliminate the GiW's already horrible reputation." He smirked at that, shaking himself out of it a moment later. "Please, for my own sanity, don't explain something like that ever again. Not-knowing about it in the first place is bad enough."

The Doctor nodded, continuing. "Okay! So, a clock tower- wild guess, your home. Then there's…well, emotions, I suppose. You're obviously confused by me being here-" That comment earned him a bloody glare. "You're very smart; even more obvious because you're actually keeping up with my wild ramblings. Angry I'm here- did I interrupt something?" He skipped over the answer when Clockwork glared more. He also glided over the…feeling of loneliness. He had enough of that to know now to bring it up. "Moving right along- You must be powerful- You mentioned being a type 2 ghosts, the ones just straight manifested from ectoplasm? More powerful than others?

"Yes, and?"

"You said the most powerful were based off natural elements, and even not having a 'normal' power level to go off of, I'm going to guess again you're one of those? So, straight to next question- what element? Or let me guess-" He paused, half for dramatic effect and half just to beam again. "Time?"

Clockwork simply replied, "Every ghost has his obsession."

"Yes!" The Doctor crowed, spinning around to the screen. "And that's my explanation for the whole mind-trip- the different time energies from my universe and your universe are more potent around you and me- me because I'm a Time Lord- natural connection to Time because of close proximity to the Time Vortex over the years- And you because it's your 'obsession' as you said, and you- _Oh!"_

He stopped mid sentence, slapping his palm to his forehead! "No! But- Yes! Ohhhhh-" He whirled on the ghost, causing him to freeze in apprehension. "That's _brilliant!_ You- _Fantastic_, you're not just connected to the Time Vortex, you're a _part of it!" _He leapt forward, grabbing Clockwork's shoulders. "Oh, that's brilliant! Just beautiful, you are!" Before he could protest, the Doctor kissed Clockwork on the forehead, whirling around the ghost and running a hand through his own hair. Lord, if he was hyper before, he was a living lighting bolt now. "But- ooooh, that's it! That's what that was- the energies where trying to connect- but the differences- and the TARDIS entering an untouched Time stream- Oh, ohhhh!" He slowed. "Oh! Ah, that's why- that's why you didn't- the anger- ohhhh. Omniscience, and the TARDIS crashed- Oh." It was very quick, as realization overcame him of what he and his TARDIS had accidentally caused. "Oh."

"Oh," Once more, slowly turning back to Clockwork, who was soberly staring at him. "Clockwork, I- I'm so sorry, I- We didn't mean to-" He fumbled, horrid at apologies, and not wanting to hurt him more. "That must've hurt, when we came blundering through- coming in was rough- but I didn't know…I-"

"Stop." The Doctor shut his mouth with a snap, too full of guilt again, and with no-where to put it. Oh, and Clockwork seemed like such a nice fellow, why did he have to go and hurt _everyone?_ One person, _one_, didn't even have to be a human! Was that too much to ask? Stupid, stupid Doc-

"If you realise what you've done, than explain _why._" Clockwork breathed, and the Doctor could hear him restraining himself, because even a good cover could only hide so much from another scarred man. Under the omniscience he must have had, he guessed Clockwork had no-one to talk to- the Observants he hadn't spoken of with the best tone of voice, Phantom was a child no matter how you looked at it, and the thought of Him was followed by emotions that never equaled good news.

These thoughts rushed through his head, changing how he saw Clockwork, from the odd, intriguing stranger he had seen first, to the powerful, all-seeing ghost protecting his time stream to…to a lonely old man, protecting the only thing he had left, the only thing he remembered having, when it was attacked. His whole world-view had probably been almost set in stone before he came along and threw it out- other dimensions, unthinkable opportunities to change Time in ways he couldn't control, all unleashed by one mad man in a box. The Doctor wouldn't realise how right he was then for a long while.

"I-…I can't." The Doctor breathed. "I was going to Earth, to England to …travel, forget about-"

"Rose?"

His throat closed up, and he had to swallow several times to continue. "The ride was bumpier than usual- I know I'm a bad driver but-" his smiled died on his lips. "Next thing I know the TARDIS says we're in another dimension, and I'm sure you know the rest."

A pregnant pause filled the gap as both of them fell silent. The Doctor shuffled his feet, running another hand through his hair. "Clockwork, I never meant to…for this to happen- not again, she's not meant to go through dimensions and the last time nearly killed her and it cost me ten years off my life to even start to heal her then- and that only got worse." Both of them were staring at the metal grating of the floor now, the TARDIS humming solemnly. "I lost…" Still couldn't say her name. Probably not for years and years will he be able to without choking up. "-and even when it was possible for my people I never learned how. This was all just a big mistake- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess up like this." _Again. Every time, always hurt people. Every time, every place, never peaceful, always running, cowardly, stupid, stupid, stupid-_

"Doctor." Clockwork said abruptly, breaking him out of his self-loathing. "I think it would be best if you went back the way you came. You don't belong here. There's one too many beings who would want to kill you and you obviously are important in your home dimension. Just…go back the way you came, and leave this universe."

He swallowed twice. Three times. Four. "Right. Alright then, I'll…I'll do that."

Clockwork gave him a meaningful glance, he almost thought he felt a psychic connection like Time Lords had between them, but the ghost was gone and out the door before he could do anything or say any more to apologize.

The Doctor, causing destruction wherever he went, messing up yet _again._


	3. Virus Error

**AN: Hey guys, guess what? I got a beta! So, give some thanks to batman-defeats-all, I really appreciate it man. Also, thanks to all you awesome reviewers from last chapter: Snowleopard0, 1eragon33, and Turkeyhead987! Keep up the awesome work, and I'll keep up mine! Also, there's a slightly unimportant AN at the bottom, so…see you there?**

**Disclaimer: Because I feel the need, I don't own Clockwork, the Doctor, or anything from either's shows.**

Chapter 3: Virus Error

Clockwork closed the TARDIS door, quickly stepping away from the machine. He felt the life inside of it, the time stream running through it, but he didn't like it one bit. Even outside he could feel it- her, he corrected when he felt a tinge of annoyance come from the machine. Did it really matter? They were leaving now, and would mostly likely never see each other again. He guessed the Doctor was taking his sweet time to just _leave_, and he really couldn't push him. But once he was gone, everything would return to normal, and he could go back to his tower, where there were no more surprises.

Oh, but he could hear the Observants now. They will make such a fuss about the whole ordeal, probably nagging him for hours before he could even get a word in edge-wise. And then it would take a few more hours of _arguing _to get them to finally give him his powers back. Close-minded old ghosts; he really shouldn't be saying anything about age, though.

He stopped at the mouth of the alley, grabbing his head as the machine behind him came to life, disappearing with it's strange vwoop-ing sound. The migraine passed quickly, whether it was because the machine was _leaving _or because he was building a resistance to its effects, he didn't know nor cared at the moment. At least this should be the last time he heard it.

"Farewell, Doctor." He muttered, preparing to leave, as his powers should be returned with the absence of the alien man.

He grimaced as everything decided to tell him he was wrong once again, and practically _throw _the machine into materializing back in it's previous spot only a minute later. He spun on the spot, pinning the Doctor with a stunned look as he opened the door.

"Well," The Time Lord stated awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. "That didn't go quite right."

After the TARDIS had landed again, they had a brief glaring match, consisting mostly of him glaring at the Doctor rather than an equal share of glaring. Laughing nervously, the Doctor had offered him a seat while he did some jiggery-pokery - his term- on the TARDIS to see what had gone wrong. Currently, Clockwork was sitting in the captain's chair with his arms crossed and his ankle perched on the opposite knee, while the Doctor fiddled around with the engine underneath one of the grates on the floor.

Sitting up with a grunt and a smudge of grease on his cheek, the Doctor frowned at the working TARDIS. "Nothing's melted, missing, or otherwise messed with, and the scanners says there isn't anything at the _moment _surrounding Earth that would have kept us from flying back to that rift." He stood up, double-checking the screen. "There might have been something that came up while we were in the air, but since I wasn't looking for it- it's only the early twenty-first century, no world-wide shields yet- I wasn't able to scan it or otherwise find out what it was."

Clockwork grunted affirmatively, working his jaw. The longer he stayed in this machine, the more he realized it had a sentience not unlike lairs do for their owners, although much less choose-y. He had felt her nudges of curiosity while the Doctor worked, but had ignored her for the most part.

"There aren't any world-wide shields of any kind that could stop you, and the only minute _possibility _would be a ghost shield, but the GiW aren't that smart, it would be a stupid idea, and even _then _it still should have let you through," Clockwork thought out-loud, putting his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his entwined hands. "So either a ghost pushed you back, or you brought something with you when you broke into this dimension. Unless you have evidence against being followed, it could be either, considering everything."

The Doctor frowned, pacing around the console. "I didn't even plan on coming here in the first place, and I wasn't being followed or chased beforehand. I would have known," He paused, thinking. "Well, I _should _have know if I had been. I didn't leave the last planet on bad terms, so I wouldn't know why I would be followed."

Clockwork hummed in understanding, staring off into space. What had happened? Both options were unlikely, and he could tell from the way he had come back that it wasn't by choice. But what ghost would care enough to keep him from leaving? What ghost would even have the power, let alone the motive? This was a strong machine when it got going, he could tell. He felt the TARDIS hum appreciatively at him for the compliment he hadn't even said out loud. He decided she was definitely as sentient as a powerful lair, if not more so.

"She's apparently taken a fancy to you." The comment knocked him out of his thoughts to look at the Doctor. He was smiling- not beaming, just a nice small smile, looking between him and the TARDIS.

"What?" Was his clever response.

That got the beam back on the Doctor's face. "The TARDIS. She seems to like you quite a bit. Funny, she's not usually this positive towards new people, not even some of my companions." He patted the console, looking up at the center. "I can only guess why," Said the Time Lord with a chuckle.

Clockwork smirked. Then the Doctor was connected to the TARDIS. He began to believe more and more the TARDIS was like the Doctor's traveling lair. They certainly seemed to have the dynamic, even if he wasn't a ghost- besides, they had the bigger-on-the-inside part down as well. He couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What'd I say now?" The Doctor questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing," Clockwork said, waving him away. "Just and old ghost's musings. We had better find a way for you to get back home." Although I'm sure you already are when you're in here. He thought to himself as he stood.

The TARDIS seemed to hum sadly in agreement. A lovely home, but he thought it would be lonely when no-one else was around. He knew what that felt like, when home was _home_, but it was also empty and lonely. That's why he had to admit he liked it when Daniel came for a place to study or talk; it made his clock tower seem less empty.

If the Doctor felt the TARDIS's melancholy, he didn't remark on it. "So, how do you plan on accomplishing that?"

"Hmm…" Clockwork hummed as he walked outside, the Doctor in his wake. "I suppose I could try to convince the Observants to give me back my powers so I can try to see what's keeping you grounded." He sighed, frowning as he thought of the argument this predicament would bring up. Not to mention he'd have to bring the Doctor right in the middle of it, and they'd yell at him more for just that.

The Doctor gave him a worried glance. "I take it they aren't you're best of friends?"

"The Council and I share very different opinions of how to handle the Time stream," He explained after a moment of hesitation. "They can't see the big picture, but I have to do their dirty work since they are not allowed to interfere; the same goes for me, most of the time, unless the situation is dire."

"Then why did they-?" The Doctor started.

"The meaning of 'dire' is another thing we do not agree on," Clockwork finished simply.

"Ah," Nodding, the Doctor dropped the subject. He could tell this Council of Observants was not the liveliest nor the kindest of ghosts. The situation actually sounded only a few steps away from being- well, being like the Time Lord Council and himself, way back when.

"So," He continued, walking to Clockwork's left as they started to move. "Where to now?"

"To try and contact them; it would be the easiest way to get everything done if they will just open a portal for us into the Observatory," Clockwork sighed once again. "But I don't have to be omniscient to know they probably won't, just to punish me for not obeying their orders."

The Doctor grimaced in sympathy. This didn't sound like it was going to be that easy. "Ah, right. And on the off chance they do?"

"Then they'll just yell at us- mainly me- sooner rather than later. But at least it would be done quick." Clockwork shook his head pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know if I want to get it over with or wait for them to cool down a little. Though, they don't just forget about something like this easily. I'll be hearing about this from them for years, I'm sure."

The Doctor frowned, studying Clockwork's face. He seemed annoyed, angry, but above all just tired. He guessed this didn't happen a whole lot, but apparently it didn't need to for these Observants to give Clockwork hell over every slip-up. But he seemed more tired and annoyed than pitying himself. Like, this was just how it was, and he would just have to live with it. Having people like them breathing down your neck all the time could do that so a person, even a ghost.

"Why don't you just…" The Doctor started. "Run away?"

"Where to?" Clockwork laughed, but it was a hollow laugh. "They watch the Time stream just as I do, they would eventually find me. If it wasn't them, it would be one of the ghost hunters out there; there'd be no peace for because I know none of them would let me go. Besides, it's my obsession, let alone my job, to make sure the timeline stays on track." He stopped, even more annoyed. "Take away the Observants and I'd think I'd be fine."

"Then why don't you?" Clockwork started, confused and aghast. Noticed that tat hadn't come out right, the Doctor tried again. "I mean, why don't you just do this yourself, not worry about the Observants? You apparently don't like them, so why not just get away, break off and do this yourself?"

"We have a contract." Clockwork stated, staring at the ground. "They would take it as a breach of our deal, and under such guidelines set forth, they would destroy or imprison me. Whichever they deem fit."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to look aghast. "What?!" He blurted, utterly shocked. "Why? Why would that even be in a contract? What, are they scared you would- what, go rogue and destroy everything?!"

"Yes." Was his simple answer. The Doctor stuttered for a few minutes, trying to find his argument and his brain.

"What?!" He blurted once again.

Clockwork sighed, motioning the Doctor closer. "It's a very real possibility- not because I'm malevolent, but because of the power I hold," Clockwork explained in a low tone. "With my power, and the wrong intentions, I could destroy everything if not contained. Even with the right intentions, something could go wrong and I could unintentionally end up destroying the time stream, not to mention I could simply get rid of any being I didn't like if I got the thought into my head- at least, that's their reasoning, and it's fairly sound. I could. I'm connected to the very Time stream itself, and most of my power comes from it; mostly through my staff as a natural weakness that comes from having such power. It frightened the Observants, not to mention some ghosts back then whom didn't trust my good intentions to protect and appreciate my obsession, rather than use it like many did and still do. I saw their reasoning, and how the Observants had the power in numbers to take me down lest I ever did go rogue. Since I can't see my own time stream, and partially because they were offering peace and threatening my destruction, I obliged to their terms of 'employment', as they called it. Thus, the Contract." Finished, Clockwork stepped away, allowing everything to soak in the Doctor's mind.

"Well," He muttered briskly. "That's…logical, I suppose. But it seems a bit of a one-sided agreement, doesn't it? I mean, you seem to go through more trouble with them than if you hadn't agreed in the first place. That must have been…" He blew out a big breath of air from his cheeks. "_ages _ago! Does it still matter?"

Clockwork was silent for a moment, and the Doctor would practically hear him thinking.

"Ghosts are not creatures of great change, Doctor," Clockwork began slowly. "We are mostly constant- find something that works and stick to it, our emotions about something or someone take much long to change in option than it takes for humans to change, for most ghosts this is true. Much of what was true back then is still very true now. Many of our feelings on the matter are the same as well, save the fact I would never had thought they would be so annoying."

He chuckled, but continued. "That being so, I can still not see my future. And considering a fairly recent experience- well, I don't think I would've handled it the same had the Observants given me no choice but to kill the boy- he was going to grow into the most dangerous ghost in the Zone. Since, in retrospect- and don't tell anyone this- it could be taken as possibly somewhat my fault the whole thing occurred by trying to show them nothing was wrong with the matter at hand. Needless to say it was one of those few instances I was wrong, and I went against their wishes for the greater good, much like I did today, and now I will be held fully responsible if said boy ever goes down the wrong path." Clockwork paused. "And no, I won't explain that particular instance any further. It's not my story to tell, and even if it was, it's not a story I'd care to tell."

"Anyway, getting back to your question: Yes, I believe that, as far as things have changed in the past few ages, as you so eloquently put it, the Contract still matters and is in the right on the whole."

They walked in companionable silence for a while, the Doctor not really paying too much attention as he thought about this information. Clockwork, while paying attention enough to know where they were headed, was trying to figure out why he told the Doctor about _any _of this. Even Danny, who was probably the only being that even knew about any of this outside of the involved parties, hardly knew about the details, the extents of his power and the role it played, his real feelings and reasons for the contract. And yet, here was the Doctor, unattached, unimportant here, actually pulling him down from his sky-view of the parade, and that should make him _mad!_ And it did, it did, by the Time stream, did it make him mad- but that wasn't the whole extent of it. It also made him…relived? And a bit excited, nervous, curious, maybe?_ Why?_ He had everything in his existence nailed down, lists of 'always's, 'maybe's, and 'never's to define everything. _Always _were the Observants annoying bystanders that kept him from getting too attached. _Never _was he to let anyone destroy something or someone unless it led to the best possible option in the long run. And _maybe _he was allowed to interfere, maybe, but only when the parade was about fall over a cliff- or something to that extent. The lists of 'always's and 'never's were simple, long, easy- comforting to time's protector. Always would Danny Fenton/Phantom become a hero- whether human, half-ghost, or full ghost. Never was he a to-the-core villain, lest he destroy everything. Always was there WWI, WWII, Pompeii erupting, the dinosaurs going extinct, and so on. Never was the Earth destroyed by Him, or Pariah, or controlled by Plasmius- no matter how hard the billionaire tried. And if those things did or didn't happen, it wasn't long before something would click, or Clockwork would nudge everything into place. 'Maybe's were tolerable, expected when there were so many possibilities. But then came the Doctor. Then came the 'I don't know's.

Then came the fear of doing something and it leading to everything breaking. The worry of not knowing anything that was to come. The excitement, though. The exhilarating excitement of not knowing, being blind but continuing on, unsure if he was doing right or wrong and _really _being responsible for his actions. And the Observants couldn't say a damn thing. They didn't have _any _authority over the Doctor, and it was he who had brought Clockwork out in the first place. And Clockwork was walking the thin line between breaking to pieces over his lists going through the shredder, and saying 'Screw it all!' before doing what he wanted, to fix everything and help. But both were dangerous. The Doctor was dangerous, knowing all of this and no-one would really be able to stop him if he wanted to turn on Clockwork, if he wanted to change something. Clockwork couldn't stop him, not now. So then why was he divulging his secrets to this man? _Simple,_ his subconscious piped, _you're both older than any human and most ghosts, and without a peer to even call an acquaintance, let alone a _friend_._

He ignored his subconscious though. He was not supposed to _have _peers, or acquaintances, and especially not friends. He was supposed to be uninvolved. It was only by meddling in his time stream that Clockwork was allowed to guide Danny.

And now was not the time to mull over _that _minefield. They were getting close to their destination. Turning a corner, Clockwork nodded to a hole-in-the-wall bookstore just down the street.

As they neared it, the Doctor read out the sign. "'The Sulk and Lurk.' Why do I get the feeling this isn't somewhere I'd be welcome on a normal occasion?"

Clockwork chuckled, pushing the door open. "Because half the patrons would glare you to death with that cherry-as-hell attitude you've got. It's a gothic book store and restaurant." The Doctor looked vaguely frightened at the prospect of being 'glared to death', but otherwise just nodded and followed.

Inside it was darkly fashioned as one would expect, the only truly exceptional lighting being the one on the stage and over some dark wood desks in the back next to the bookshelves. It was fairly empty, only about a dozen people, all their attire matching to the dark theme. A few gave the Doctor some glares, just able to tell from his odd clothing and the way he walked that he was nota typical part of this crowd. Clockwork, on the other hand, seemed to blend in fairly well without standing out, only being noticed because of his company. Acting quickly, Clockwork walked up to the person apparently in charge, tapping them on the shoulder. It was an older girl, maybe mid-twenties, who had been talking to two others. As she turned, he saw that her nametag read 'Ruby', and her dyed, blood-red hair was in a pixy cut, matching her thin face.

"Excuse me, is there a phone here I could use?" He asked, fully well knowing the answer. "Maybe in the back? It's a bit private."

"Oh, uh," The girl blinked a couple times, and he couldn't help but notice her blushing at both of them. "S-sure, there's a wall phone in the first door on your right in the back." She turned away to talk to two girls sitting at a table nearby, glancing back at them. "Just, don't lock the door, and don't touch anything else."

As the two of them started to move away, Ruby seemed to have a bit of an argument with the two other girls. Then she turned and stopped them, blurting out "You two aren't- you know-" She motioned between the two of them, her face going even redder.

Clockwork and the Doctor looked at each other wide-eyes, before vigorously shaking their heads.

"No, no, we aren't-!"

"No, not at all, not in the least!" The girls at the table, obviously the first's friends, giggled at their flustered replies.

"I don't mean that to be weird or anything, it's perfectly fine, I just…" She hesitated, looking back at her friends. One of them had dark brown hair in a pony tail, and nodded vigorously, shooing her forward, while the other, who had long black hair, turned bright red and slid down in her chair. Stiff-backed, she stepped forward, head down. "M-my friend, Jade, and I w-were wondering-"

"Will you go out with them?" The third girl, who had been pushing Ruby along. burst out cheerily. Ruby flipped around and glared at her.

"Shut up, Alex!" Ruby hissed, before turning back to them with a nervous smile. "Sorry, but uh- t-that's- well, what Alex said. I-I mean, Jade was wondering how you got y-your hair so white and I was uh-"

"Oh for Jupiter's sake!" Alex blew up, stepping up next to he friend, fed up with their shyness. "Ruby likes the handsome blue-suit back there," The Doctor blushed red and started to look very flustered as she said this. "and Jade likes you, mister mysterious white-haired scar-face. Now, will you go with them to the next midnight horror-show movie this Friday?"

All but Alex at that point was either beet red or otherwise at some stage of embarrassment. Clockwork was half-frozen in shock, and the Doctor only weakly smiled and put his hands up in surrender as the ghost turned to him for help, clearly not going to help in any way. _'Damnit all, Doctor!_' He seemed to scowl at him. '_I'm not used to talking to normal humans!_'

Turning back to them, he weighed his words carefully. "Ah, well," He started, trying to figured out what to say. "We really appreciate the offer, really, but-"

Alex seemed to deflate, glaring at them. "Neither of you are single, are you?"

"It's not that-"

"Then what the hell is the problem?!" Alex shot at them.

"Age and species for starters…" Clockwork mumbled, too low for the girls to hear. "The thing is-"

"What, you're gay?"

Clockwork huffed, glaring. "No, but if you would let me finish, I could explain." They glared at each other for a minute, but Alex eventually backed down. "Now, you two both seem perfectly nice, no matter the company you decide to keep-" He gave Alex a pointed look. "We- ah…" He paused, thinking. "We just don't have the time or inclination-" He paused, seeing Alex start to rise like a bomb ready to blow. "And my friend here just lost someone dear to him- now really isn't the best time."

Clockwork could practically feel the sadness and shock come off the Doctor, and he didn't have to look to know he had flinched. It was a low move, but he didn't want to get into yelling match with this Alex girl. The effect was just as instantaneous on the three girls. Alex lost all her anger, and the two other perked up in sympathy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ruby rushed to comfort. "We didn't know- it's okay, it's fine. We're really sorry!" She glanced at her friend and elbowed her in the side.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Alex apologized, looking very guilty. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Clockwork interrupted, feeling the guilt build on with every wave of betrayal and sadness coming from the Doctor. Getting the man home or not, he'd beat himself up about this once he realized later how he could've handled it better.

Trying not to look at the Doctor, he pulled the man along to the manager's room, where the phone was. Just after they left, he heard Ruby start to get onto her friend for being so pushy. Clockwork sighed. Bloody train wreck, that was.

He closed the door and instead of going to the phone, he went to the wall mirror behind the desk. There was a minute of silence where Clockwork knew he should say something.

"Doctor-"

"It's fine." He interrupted, leaning on the opposite edge of the desk, shoulders slumped.

"No, it wasn't. I'm really sorry-"

"Don't be." He didn't even try to make a joke. Clockwork frowned. He didn't even know much about it, only what he'd gleaned off of the mind-exchange. But that was enough to know he had loved Rose very much.

Clockwork sighed, never having felt more guilty. Here was the bad part of getting involved- he was to blame for everything he did wrong. The guilt, especially for this, was horrible. But that wasn't to be worried about now.

"They'll probably either want to talk to you, or not even see you at all," Clockwork muttered, turning back to the mirror. "Just so you know, they've only got an eye for their head."

There was a cough that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle from the Doctor. "Cyclopes ghosts? Wait, no mouth?"

Clockwork smirked. "Nope."

"Then how- ?" He muttered. "They can talk, right?"

"Yes." Clockwork told him. "But that is something I don't even want to ponder. Ghosts work in mysterious ways." Clockwork smiled.

"Now," He continued when he saw the Doctor was getting up to stand next to him. "I'm sure you'll want to see this. Do you see a marker around here?"

They searched for one, but to no avail. "Oh well, this gets a better connection anyway." Clockwork muttered, pulling off a glove.

"What do you- whoa!" The Doctor blinked in surprise as Clockwork bit his forefinger, causing it to bleed. For a moment he was worried as to why the ghost was hurting himself like that, until he saw the glowing green blood seep from the cut.

"What- Ghosts bleed?"

"Just like humans do," Clockwork stated matter-of-factly, drawing on the mirror. "Just green ectoplasm, rather than red blood. I'd be surprised if your blood was the same in appearance as a humans, Doctor."

Just grunting, the Doctor paid more attention to what the ghost was doing, and he asked after a moment.

"It's a communication method used in older days, when normal methods couldn't be used." Clockwork explained. "This one is specifically for contacting the Observants and I, and takes a good deal of power, knowledge, and luck." He paused, studying his work. "Power to get the knowledge, and luck to make it through. You would either, A, have to have blood from myself or one of the Observants, know this symbol, and the spell for this specifically, B, know a different symbol and spell combination that has to be done at the right time, or C, yet another symbol and spell pair, a list of ingredients from all around the world, and what to do with them at the right time. They get simpler to find, but more difficult to succeed as you go down the line." He put a dot in the center of the symbol, finishing it. "Obviously, we're going with option A."

On the mirror was a perfect circle, with dash marks coming about an inch towards the center at every hour mark, all very precise. There was a single dot at the center, and four symbols or letters the Doctor didn't recognize at the noon, 3, 6, and 9 positions.

"Don't tell _any _being of this, unless it is absolutely necessary, Doctor." Clockwork murmured solemnly. "This is one of the best kept secrets of the Ghost Zone, no living humans know of it._ Nobody _will be told, neither here nor in your world. Understood?"

The Doctor blinked, and nodded seriously. "I promise, I won't tell a soul."

Clockwork nodded at him. Putting his hand right in the center of the circle, he spoke four words, none of which the Doctor recognized or could even translate. It must have been a language that didn't exist in his world, because he could translate every known language.

"_Xna, Hin, Zun, Dek._" He said, and the Doctor felt the power in the words as the now-dried blood turned gold, falling like sand into nothingness. After hearing them, it was almost like the power that they had been given tried to erase them from his head, but the stubborn Time Lord mind wouldn't have that. While he tried to remember the words, he stepped back, as per the look he was getting from Clockwork. The whole mirror shined gold for a second, and the picture came to focus. It was a mirror no longer. From his position, the Doctor could see only a fraction of what must have been an Observant. Green, no facial features, and wearing a white and gold robe, from what he could see. As they spoke, the Doctor took it as one of the few times it was better to keep silent.

"Clockwork," The Observant spoke, lacing his voice with anger. "I would think this meant the problem was solved, but our vision is still blocked. What has transpired?"

Clockwork instantly straightened, becoming much more formal, much more closed off. "I found the-" He paused, glancing at the Doctor. "-problem." He finished slowly. "It's a man, a being from another dimension, not human. He's not aggressive and friendly, and has told me that he had no intentions or knowledge of traveling between dimensions before or after the fact."

"And?" The Observant questioned. "You are holding information, Clockwork. A simple thing like this would not disrupt the Time stream so."

"I was getting to that." Clockwork calmly replied, but the Doctor could see the annoyance flickering underneath the mask. "He calls himself the Doctor, and says he is from a race of being that call themselves 'Time Lords.'" The Observant scoffed angrily, and seemed to shake his head in disbelief.

"A pompous title, what difference does this make?" The Observant replied, obviously not impressed.

"He does seem to have some connection to Time, I can feel it." He glanced at him again. "And he told me that his people became this way because their planet lies in a thin point of space and time, where the exposure to the Time Vortex has affected them over the generations. But he says he does not wish to tamper with Time, himself, and that-" He paused, trying not to show regret. "He also states that he is the last of his kind."

The Observant hummed in distaste. "And how did he get here?"

"As for the travel between dimensions, neither of us are sure. But his ship- cloaked as a 1960's British Police Box of all things-" The Doctor tried not to say anything; he liked the blue box the chameleon circuit had gotten stuck on. "is what he was traveling in." He stopped, hoping that that was enough. Clockwork knew if the Observants found out about the time machine, they would be absolutely livid. And as per the contract, he technically couldn't lie if they out-right asked-

"Anything to note on the ship that would affect the time stream?" Damnit.

"Well- It's a machine called a TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's-"

"A time machine?!" The mirror almost shook on the nail it hung on. The Doctor hoped nobody nearby had hear the Observant's outburst, and frankly he didn't like where this was headed either.

"Yes, a working one." Clockwork stated simply, and the Doctor could tell he was preparing for the knock back.

"This other-worldly _mortal _has the _audacity _to have a fully-functioning time machine and bring it right into the center of our time stream!? That low-life being should be punished for that act alone- you know we cannot allow this-"

"To be perfectly honest," Clockwork interrupted, polite as can be. "He is not from this dimension, and thus we cannot hold much authority over him unless he purposefully tries to derail our work, or otherwise harm the Time Stream as it is." The Observant almost started again, but he didn't let him. "What I was contacting you about really was this: the Doctor tried to go back to where the rift between the worlds was, to return home, but someone or something kept him from even leaving Earth's orbit. I was merely going to ask for a portal back so that we can deal with whatever is causing this and return him back to his home dimension."

There was a few moments of near-silence, in which it sounded like the Observant was attempting to control his temper. Clockwork glance at the Doctor once more, and this time it did not go unnoticed.

"He is there with you?" The ghost growled.

"Now? Yes, he is." Clockwork replied politely.

"Let him speak." Clockwork nodded, and moved around the Doctor so he could move to talk to the Observant.

"For god's sake, Doctor, be respectful, you don't have to deal with them afterwards." Clockwork pleaded in his ear as he relaxed, out of eyesight now.

"What, me? Disrespectful?" The Doctor asked, innocently beaming. He moved in from of the mirror then, hands in his pockets, a beaming mad-man.

"'Allo there! I've been told you're an Observant, right?" The Doctor crowed, pompous as a peacock. "A pleasure! I'm the Doctor. Sorry about this whole-"

"Quiet!" The Observant barked, glaring at him. Now that he had a better view, he saw that the ghost indeed was just an eye, no facial features otherwise, and humanoid-shaped from what he could see. The white and gold robe was right, and he had a black cape on as well.

"Well, that's not very polite…" The Doctor muttered with a disappointed frown, but let him continue.

"You 're the so-called 'Time Lord'?" The eye questioned.

"Yes, I-"

"And you came in a fully-functioning time machine, is that right?"

"Well," He drawled, running a hand through his hair. "_Technically_, it's a time _and _space machine, and the navigation's a bit knackered, not to mention it's supposed to be a six-man job, and I_ wasn't _ever a first-rate driver-"

"Six-man vessel?" They interrupted. "Are there other's with you?"

The Doctor sobered up almost immediately. "Didn't listen, did you?'

"_Doctor_!" Clockwork hissed.

"He already told you- I'm the last of my kind." He put on a sad smile. "No-one else, just little ol' me, traveling the stars, running since I got off-planet."

The Observant stared at him intently, probably deciding whether or not he was telling the truth.

"Look," The Doctor deadpanned. "I didn't mean to come here. Clockwork's been a wonderful host, but I'm not _that _thick where I don't realize I'm really not wanted here. If it'll make his after-life easier, I'll be happy to just leave and let you lot get back to your jobs- but I _can't_. Something is keeping me from leaving orbit, and we really just need a way to fix whatever's causing it, and I'll be off, quick as you like."

The Observant growled, glaring daggers. "You are both just like each other- self-centered, spoiled brats! Pompous and disrespectful, I'm surprised a mortal could be so impudent! Clockwork, this was your punishment for disobeying us, and it shall remain. Find your own way back, and we may _consider _allowing you to have your staff. Do not report back until either this mortal _mutt _is gone, or you are ready to realize your mistakes and take due punishment!"

The mirror went black, a minute later returning to a normal mirror. The Doctor blinking a couple times as Clockwork moved forward to look in the mirror.

"Well, wasn't _that _a pleasant discussion!" The Doctor joked, smirking. Clockwork just frowned at him before sighing and stepping back.

"It went as well as was to be expected. They're a lot of hot-headed idiots. Group enough of them together and they actually pose a threat." They shared a laugh, Clockwork stopping quickly. "I suppose this means it's to plan B."

"It's a nice twist to actually be with someone that someone has backup plans." The Doctor noted with a smile. "I usually have to scrap mine half-way through and wing it."

Clockwork scoffed, actually moving to the telephone now. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He punched in the phone number, waiting as the phone ringed.

"Ah, who is plan B?" The Doctor questioned, standing next to him with an eyebrow cocked.

"Why, Phantom, obviously." Clockwork smirked. "Who else would help a mad man with a box and the Ghost of Time in the same sitting?"

**AN: Before anyone asks, I made up that communication ritual thing on-the-spot; I mean, I was gonna use it in the chapter, I just made up the details when I got there. The words I would be Ghost Language(just cuz I love that head canon), and would translate to something like 'Midnight, Twilight, Noon, Dusk' in that order. I didn't get any part of it from anything, other than generic ritual stuff like an incantation and a symbol to be used. And you just GOTTA use **_**blood**_** for these things, don't cha? XD I literally just keyboard-smashed a few three-lettered words that sounded good, so if they ACTUALLY mean anything in any language, it was purely unintentional. Hope you review, and tell me what you think!**


	4. Assistance Needed

**AN: Yeah, next chapter! A lot more of this was taken from my rough draft I had written a couple months back, so I'm wondering if that was a good thing or not. ^^ **

**Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers(Even the one that doesn't want to be thanked, though I shall not list them!), thanks to you this story ahs the most hits, favorites, and follows of all my stories. BUT, not the most reveiws. XP Still, thanks to: 1eragon33, Turkeyhead987, syd004, BadKristy13, and the three Guests! You keep me motivated. **

**Disclaimer: No. Sorry.**

**Chapter 4**

**Assistance Needed**

Danny had _known_ today was not going to be a normal day when he had passed by Clockwork that morning. The very fact Clockwork was even _in _the human world proved his point. Not to mention the fact Clockwork hadn't paused time, had sent him away, and had also been in a human disguise, all of which had added up to make the halfa _really_ confused the whole way home.

So, Danny wasn't sure why he was so shocked when he got a phone call from a weird number and it was- surprise, surprise- Clockwork.

"Hello?" He asked quickly, glancing across the kitchen table at his parents.

"Daniel, I think we could use your assistance now."

It took Danny a minute, but the voice coupled with the nonexistent greeting eventually let his brain click. _"Clockwork?" _He hissed into the phone, pressing the device closer to his face.

"I will explain later but-"

"You never explain _anything _unless it's in incomprehensible riddles, so that's a moot point," Danny butted in, and he could practically hear Clockwork's annoyed frown. He realised he couldn't have this conversation in front of his parents, and quietly stood up and exited the kitchen. He didn't really need an excuse, since his parents were tinkering _very loudly _with the appliances in the kitchen. Looked like ecto-infused weenies were in his future again. He didn't even have to ask the future-seer he had on the phone.

"Yes, well, I need you to get your parents out of the house, and away from the area, and go to the Nasty Burger-"

_"Nasty burger- why would someone name a restaurant the 'Nasty Burger'?" _Another voice echoed in the background, interrupting with a distinctly British accent.

Clockwork's voice momentarily faded, and Danny heard him hiss _"Shut _up_, Doctor!" _before he came back.

"Who was that?"

"You'll meet him later, so I'll tell you then." Of course he wouldn't give the boy a straight answer. Danny felt the headache starting already.

Danny sighed, glancing into the kitchen as the toaster sparked with green electricity under his mom's tools.

"It'll take a minute." He muttered, glancing at the full plate of fudge in front of Jack. "Why? What kind of distracted?"

"The kind of distracted that doesn't need you with them, or them in the lab." Oh. He probably needed the portal. "Just get them out of the house, away from the Nasty Burger, and get there _quickly_." The Nasty Burger? Okay, now came the confusing part. Might as well stop trying to figure his plan out now, since this was one of _Clockwork's _plans. Resigning himself to ignorance, Danny nodded before he realised the other end wouldn't be able to see the motion.

"Uh, right. Whatever you say, Clockwork."

"Don't wear yourself out, but please, hurry."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, distracting my expert ghost-hunting parents is like a walk in the park." Danny remarked sarcastically. Technically it was, but if he couldn't use sarcasm and witty banter to handle the time ghost, it'd kill him. "Bye."

The other end hung up, and Danny sighed as he walked back into the kitchen. What had he just gotten dragged into?

The Doctor quietly shut the door of the Skulk and Lurk's back entrance, jogging to catch up to the hooded ghost at the end of the alley. He just followed along for a moment before he opened his mouth to talk. He paused as he heard the ghost in front of him sigh.

"What is it?" Clockwork asked, not even turning to look at him.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor replied innocently, digging his hands into his pockets.

Clockwork paused to turn and gave him an unimpressed look before muttering, "You are _such _a child." The Doctor only smiled. "What were you going to ask me?"

"What?" He said, keeping up the innocent act. "Nothing, nothing, it's not important." Clockwork raised and eyebrow, but turned and continued walking. "_Well-_" Clockwork only sighed again. "I was wondering about Danny- that's his name? Danny Phantom?"

"Yes."

He nodded, turning the information in his head. "Okay then, why did you refer to the Fenton's as his parents? He's a ghost, isn't he? The irony not-withstanding, how and why would a child of two apparently-dangerous ghost _hunters_ become a ghost?"

"Doctor, it's complicated, and not really the most important thing to discuss right now."

"Uh-_huh._" Clockwork rolled his eyes as he realised the Time Lord wouldn't let this go.

"How old are you? You're as stubborn as a child." Clockwork complained.

"Actually, I'm 906, for your information." The Doctor mentioned casually, waving the number away. "But you were saying?"

"I _wasn't_… But alright." Letting the Doctor catch up alongside him, he paused before actually explaining. "The Fenton's have a son, who is still alive, named Danny Fenton. About two years ago, there was an accident with the stable Ghost Portal they built, with Danny turning it on by accident from the inside. He was electrocuted by ectoplasmic energy, and came out of the ordeal half-ghost." Clockwork explained quickly. "His ghost-half is Danny _Phantom_, and only three full humans know he's half ghost."

The Doctor stopped in the middle of the sidewalk in shock. His eyebrows were screwed up and his mouth was hanging open as his mind tried to scientifically explain the phenomenon.

_"What?!" _He burst, giving up as he ran after the ghost. Catching up, he grabbed Clockwork's shoulder, making him slow down. "What? How- But-" Clockwork just cocked an eyebrow, continuing on his way with the Doctor trailing after in thought.

"Don't hurt yourself, Doctor."

The Doctor snapped out of it and glared at him. "Oi, I could probably figure it out if I knew more about how ectoplasm worked in this universe- not to mention I've never even _heard _about a Ghost Portal before coming here, so I don't know how it works!" His demeanor quickly changed as he looked down in curious thought. "Oh, but I would _love _to have a look at the blueprints, they must be genius! And the studies needed for the project would be interesting, too-"

"The Fenton's are scientists first, ghost hunters second, you know." Clockwork added lazily.

"Really? Oh, I've _got _to see their work! I wonder what they know- although, I'm guessing it'd be more profitable to try and ask you." The Doctor remarked with a smirk.

Clockwork chuckled, shaking his head. "Danny could probably tell you more than his parents could. They're very intelligent, and the most formally educated in their field, but that isn't much." Clockwork got something the Doctor would call a mischievous grin on his face. "I won't lie and say I haven't done anything to keep hunters from figuring ghosts out." He chuckled darkly. "Especially the government's ghost hunters."

The Doctor gave him a sideways glance, slightly unnerved. "Ah, what exactly does that mean?"

"Let's just say the GiW's record keepers have a healthy fear of watches." He murmured, his dark smile widening just a bit. The Doctor was tempted to ask, but his second thoughts kept him from delving down that road.

"O-kaay, remind me to stay on your good side." The Doctor muttered.

"Just be thankful you've got a friendly personality and that I didn't have my powers when we first met." Clockwork's dark grin dimmed to a playful smirk. The ghost couldn't help but chuckle again at the Doctor's reaction, but he calmed down when he realised they were coming up on the corner where the Nasty Burger sat.

He wondered vaguely why he'd made that sound so dark, the whole meddling with the GiW incident. Either he had wanted to get a reaction from the Doctor, or he had enjoyed the memory of scaring the living daylights out of those government officials a _bit _too much.

"You never did answer me, _why_ do they call it 'the Nasty Burger'? Isn't that a bit counter-productive for a fast-food chain?" The Doctor was studying the establishment as they entered the doors. It being the start of summer, the place was fairly busy with an assortment of teens hanging around and chatting their spare time away.

"Does it matter, Doctor?" Clockwork muttered, looking for a certain ebony-haired teen. Taking half a moment to think, Clockwork huffed, frowning. He moved for the back of the store, muttering under his breath along the way. "He should be here by now, the Fenton's aren't _that _hard to distract."

The Doctor glanced out the windows as he followed, looking for Danny. Well, he didn't actually know what Danny looked like, but he felt like it would be one of those 'you'll know him when you see him' ordeals. What did the boy look like anyway?

"Do you have a quarter?" He was knocked out of his musings by Clockwork's annoyed question. He seemed to have been trying to jimmy the pay phone into calling without pay, but it hadn't worked. Smirking, the Doctor reached inside his inner jacket pocket.

"I've got something better than a quarter," He joked, pulling out the sonic screwdriver and pointing it at the machine with a buzz. The phone quickly clicked, and the receiver in Clockwork's hand sounded the dial tone.

Clockwork raised an eyebrow at him, watching him return the silver and blue device to his pocket. "A sonic device? Really? Oh, I get it, you just don't pay for anything," Clockwork ranted quietly, rolling his eyes as he entered the number.

The Doctor frowned. "It's not that, it's just easier to use my sonic! What you have against my sonic screwdriver, anyway? It's a perfectly harmless."

Clockwork just huffed. "Never mind, it's only a quarter. And I have no problem with your sonic…screwdriver- really, a screwdriver?" He paused to ask, giving the most disbelieving look.

"What, you've never been _bored?" _The Doctor shot back before the ghost continued.

"I've nothing against it except for the fact it's only the twenty-first century! Don't you dare lose that thing; if someone finds that kind of device now, the normal advancement of human technology would be destroyed. It's already twisted enough with the Fenton's scientific advancements."

"Oi! I'm smart enough to keep track of my sonic! Besides, I would get it back before anyone could do anything with it."

"Yes, yes, and then they'd still have the idea of using sonic technology-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something? No? Then I'll just go back to distracting my ghost hunting parents. I mean, it's not like they'd be any trouble if I brought a ghost right through the kitchen." Danny's voice called out loudly from the speaker, stopping the duo in their rant. They apparently hadn't noticed when Danny had picked up the phone and started listening in.

Clockwork frowned but quickly got back to reality. "Danny, don't. Now is not the time for jokes. Are your parents still at the house?"

"No, I went ghost and they ran after me. I'm on my way there, but they're scoping the town now."

Clockwork scowled and muttered some curses under his breath. The Doctor frowned at him, translating the other language easily.

"Hey! It's not in English, but still, language!" He chastised, giving the ghost a disappointed look.

"I apologize, but they might pick up my ectosigniture on their scans. Just get here quickly, Danny."

There was a pause on the other side. Clockwork was about to ask what was wrong before the ghost boy came back with a question.

"Were you just cursing in _Latin?_"His disbelief echoed through the phone. "Latin? I can't understand it, but _really?_"

Clockwork sighed. "Get over here."

There was a laugh from the other side. "Don't worry, Clockwork, nothing's gong to happen."

"Oh great, now we're all going to die," Clockwork said sarcastically, for the boy's benefit. He was rewarded with another laugh from Danny, and he smiled to himself. "Just hurry."

"On my way, just don't kill each other, whoever that guy is. Bye." Danny hung up, and Clockwork turned to find the Doctor looking at him strangely.

"What?" He cocked an eyebrow. The Doctor shook his head.

"Oh nothing…just, what Danny said." He looked at Clockwork worriedly. "Were we really fighting that bad?"

Clockwork had to stop and think about that. "I…Honestly, I'm not sure. Possibly. I could see what we were talking about turning into an argument about rules of time travel." He told the Time Lord as he walked past him and sat at a booth next to the front window of the building. The Doctor slowly followed, standing next to the table for a second before he spoke.

"Really? I think-" He stopped when Clockwork shot a glare at him.

"I'm going to stop you there. For now, let's not talk about all that. Especially not in public." Clockwork motioned to the seat across the table. "Sit down. Danny could be here quickly and quietly, but then he wouldn't have the energy to take us to the portal. It will be a few minutes" Clockwork had to stop himself from spouting exactly how long it would take Danny when it popped in his head. Knowing exactly how long something should take only made it seem like time passed slower.

A few seconds passed in silence between them. "So," The Doctor started, proving the fact he apparently couldn't go without talking for any amount of time. "What's this about those ghost scanners? If Danny's a half ghost, does it only work when he's in this ghost form? And, not to add insult to injury, but even if I ah…you know, messed up your time stream, wouldn't you still have, I dunno, generic ghostly powers? I mean, can't ghosts fly and such, or am I off?"

Clockwork frowned at him. "Sometimes I wonder if you ask too many questions. Yes, there are 'generic ghostly powers', as you put it, that do include flight, intangibility, and invisibility, and usually even the weakest ghosts have that. And no, the Fenton's scanners are sensitive enough that they lock onto Danny even when he's in his human form, it's just a stronger reading in his ghost form. As for myself, yes I have the normal abilities, but the Observants locked everything away from me so I can't do _anything_."

"If you don't have any power, then why can the scanners pick you up?

"Remember what I said before? I am very powerful, and the Observants, or even you and your TARDIS, can't completely block all my powers. Even when I can't use them, my powers are still there and still make me read high on any scanner." He paused in thought. "If I was without this disguise, I would actually overload a sensitive ghost detector."

The Doctor blinked and gave a low whistle. "And here I thought you were just a cranky old timekeeper," He said with a chuckle. "What can you do, exactly?"

"Well, manipulate and travel time for one. Also enhanced 'generic ghost abilities', and a few other tricks I don't wish to discuss," He said calmly.

"Oh, and you nag _me _about using my TARDIS when you have your own way of time travel. Bit of a hypocrite, aren't you?" The Doctor was trying to smirk, to not make this a real argument. It didn't really work well.

"You practically crash landed through _my _time stream. You tore everything up, so I think I have a perfectly good reason to not like your _ship_," Clockwork growled back. He should probably try to calm down. "Besides, I didn't mention, but it feels like a jackhammer is going off in my head when you turn that blasted thing on!"

Well, there went calming down. Maybe Danny was onto something with that warning…

"How do you know? Maybe that was just when I was trying to come or go. I could probably travel about and you wouldn't feel a thing. I bet I could get us to this tower of yours easily." They were starting to talk a little louder, but no-one was really paying attention.

"I might not be able to see everything clearly, but I can see well enough to know it _will _cause me pain every single time you turn that contraption on!"

"Oh, yes, because you know absolutely everything!" The Doctor was matching him in volume now, or it was the other way round. Either way, they were still getting louder.

"Actually, in fact, I _do! _Or I _did_, at least, before you came crash-landing down into the middle of everything!"

By now they were standing up, hands on the table. They were lucky they didn't say anything that outright told people they weren't human. To be honest, most of the people paying any attention actually thought they were squabbling brothers.

"Oi, I could fix it! All I'd have to do is go find whoever's keeping me here and talk to them, and then I'd be on my merry way and out of your hair, if that's what you want!

"Oh, you've got everything already thought out, don't you? You don't even belong here, what makes you think you could know? Things work differentially here! I don't want to take a chance and everything turn out infinitely worse!"

**"Ghost! We know you are in there! Come out quickly and quietly, no funny business, and your destruction will be swift and painless!"**

Both of their heads snapped to the window, eyes wide. There, right in front of the Nasty Burger, the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle was parked, blow horn on the top and Maddie Fenton yelling into a speaker from the passenger seat.

Everyone inside froze, or looked around in fright. No one saw a ghost, did that mean someone was overshadowed? Was it hiding? None of them knew. The Fenton's scowled at each other as nothing happened before Maddie used the speaker again.

**"Nobody leaves the building until the ghost is caught or in the open! We are coming in!"**

They got out of the RV, heading to the Nasty Burger armed to the teeth in ghost weapons. Sticking to their orders, nobody tried to leave, most people looking around in fright. Sill, Clockwork and the Doctor hadn't moved. It wasn't until the Fenton's barged in and people were starting to look at the frozen duo that either of them did anything more than blink or breathe.

"We leave this argument until we get into the Ghost Zone, agreed?" The Doctor whispered, quickly looking into Clockwork's eyes.

"Agreed," Clockwork whispered, hoarse.

They both sat down, keeping their eyes on the Fenton's. Apparently, they didn't want to startle anyone. At least, Maddie was trying not to scare the crowd. Jack looked like he was inch away from interrogating everyone until he found the ghost.

"This!" Mrs. Fenton called, trying to keep the crowd calm. "Is a ghost detector! It shows us where the ghost is and its power level! It does not harm or react to humans!"

"Except for Danny," Mr. Fenton muttered to himself.

The Doctor glanced at Clockwork. His already pale skin had, incredibly, gotten paler; he was almost transparent. And he was actually not breathing, shocked out of the habit for the moment. He was so worried about his frozen friend, the Doctor almost missed Maddie turning on the ghost detector.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed as the device beeped urgently, making everyone jump, especially Clockwork. "These levels are off the scale!"

The Doctor's eyes flashed about the room as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Hiding it under the table, he pointed it toward the ghost detector and hit the button. Nobody noticed the small whine of the sonic device. After a second, the ghost detector sparked and fizzled, now an unusable bit of metal in the woman's hands.

"The ghost knows we're here, it's trying to stall us." She told her husband, looking around the room. "He might be overshadowing someone…We need to get everyone out of here, this one's tricky." She turned to the crowd. "Line up in front of the main entrance, one of you may be overshadowed. Please, don't panic!"

The crowd, despite the orders, was quite keyed up. As everyone moved to the doors, it wasn't that hard for them to sneak towards the back.

"H-hey, what are you doing?" They turned to see a boy looking at them with panic. Poor kid looked about ready to scream bloody murder.

"I feel about sick." They said together. All three of them paused as Clockwork and the Doctor looked at each other. The two of them quickly just went with it.

"I'm about to puke," The Doctor murmured, dodging away.

"Me too," Clockwork added, on his heels.

They rushed off towards the bathroom, where the Doctor quickly used his sonic on the door to unlock and then lock it again. Inside the singular bathroom, the two of them slid down the door and sat, their heads against the hard wood as their panic became verbal in frantic panting.

"Wow…we think alike," The Doctor mumbled.

"What gave you the first clue?" Clockwork snapped. "The way we acted in unison, or the fact we're both older than everyone in the building combined?" He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I knew Danny jinxed us," He muttered with a light scowl. The Doctor laughed, knowing he was only joking.

"Well, he's going to be here soon. He has to be, or we're both dead. Well, you are already, but I'm not, and I'm hoping to keep it that way."

Just as he finished there were footsteps outside and knocking on the door. Apparently someone had left the rest of the restaurant to check out their quick exit.

"Are you two alright in there? Someone said two people ran in here?" Maddie's voice came through the door, causing both of them to pale and look at each other. The suspicion was obvious in her voice, and she probably wouldn't just leave them be.

They heard her try to open the door, and then to unlock it. Thank God the sonic screwdriver was now the only thing that could unlock it without breaking the whole lock.

"I'm beginning to love that sonic of yours," Clockwork whispered to the Doctor. The man gave a weak smile and nodded thanks before jumping to action. Winking at Clockwork, the Doctor groaned a little in pain.

"Please…don't come in, we just need a minute," He said in as pathetic a voice as he could manage. He wasn't the best actor, but it could pass as a sick man's griping.

Clockwork blinked and smiled. It would buy them time at least. Clockwork gave a pretend weak groan as his brain raced to fill in blanks.

"I told you we shouldn't have eaten at that disgusting road-side restaurant," Clockwork groaned with a smile on his face at the Doctor. The man quickly caught on, nodding again.

"A mate of mine told me their burgers were good! It was your fault, you dropped our fries on that filthy floor!

"You're the one that picked them back up! You could have told me that before I'd eaten half!"

They both groaned again, smiles on their faces. Clockwork couldn't deny it, they sounded a bit like brothers. It was a pretty good cover, and since they were just waiting for Danny, he couldn't help but just feel like they were a couple of kids pulling a prank.

"You need to stop shouting, you're giving me a headache!' The Doctor shot at Clockwork, who smiled and rolled his eyes before getting back in character.

"Same to you, you unbearable twit! I've had a migraine growing since you opened your mouth!"

They groaned again, both going silent. The Doctor gave a small smile before frowning. He looked over at Clockwork and whispered "How long have you been talking with an accent?"

"Just since I realised everyone could hear us," Clockwork admitted. "Spur of the moment knack for details, I suppose." The Doctor just nodded a little.

"You two okay in there? Can you unlock the door so we could help?"

"Stop shouting!" They called back at the same, time slapping themselves mentally when they realized it.

"We have to stop that." Clockwork muttered angrily.

"What's going on?" That was Jack.

The Doctor took the initiative. "I think we caught food poisoning! I've got a _splitting_ headache."

"I do too, so would you both kindly _shut it?_" Clockwork faked, letting some of his real annoyance seem into his voice. He was getting just the slightest bit annoyed by this whole ruse now. Where the hell was Danny?

"Get away from the door, we have to break the lock!" Maddie told them. They didn't have to fake the groans that time.

"And I thought I told you two not to fight," Danny smirked as he phased through the door above their heads.

He got a glare from the other ghost. "How long have you been here?" Clockwork questioned.

"Got here right about when you started yelling in front of the whole restaurant. You guys were so noisy, I couldn't just get you out or it would seem suspicious…And why are you talking with a British accent?" Danny asked, pointing a finger at the steaming Time Ghost.

Clockwork jerked his thumb at the Doctor, putting his other hand on his head to nurse the headache he had actually acquired. "Subconscious adding of details, it seems. Now, can we move before your father-"

**BOOM! **The room shook, and the Doctor and Clockwork were given real headaches from the impact on the door, which they had rested their heads on.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there!" Jack Fenton's voice came clearly through the wall. They all flinched and the two adults quickly stood up, away from the door.

"So this is the halfa? Danny, right?" The Doctor mused as he looked at Danny and his white hair and green eyes. Those green eyes widened when the boy remembered he didn't know this guy, but Clockwork cut him off.

"He knows, now start flying before your parents kill us all." He was quietly glaring straight ahead, and the other two were wary of him. An angry Clockwork was not a good Clockwork, for anyone involved.

Danny quickly got over it and grabbed them both, shooting into the air. The Doctor gave a yelp of surprise as he was yanked through the ceiling, but they stopped for a second about ten feet from the roof.

"Yeah, I'm Danny."

"Nice to meet you Danny, I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself with his patented beaming smile. Danny nodded and grinned in return, speeding off like a bullet towards his house before Clockwork could nag at them again.

The Doctor laughed, enjoying the feeling of flight as Danny laughed with him and went a little faster, darting around buildings. Clockwork smirked at the two children as they laughed; Danny was only 15, but no matter how old the Doctor was, he was still such a _child_.


	5. Preperations

**AN: HOLY. MOTHER. OF. GOD. This took WAYYYYYY too long. Aheheh ^^; But, uh, hey again! Not dead! -dodges rotten fruit- Hey, i got a chapter at least, eh!? Well, it's kinda a fill-er-ish chapter...-dodges knives- HEY! It's got some solid friendship feels, at least!**

**But also. i think my beta got it right when he said 'i am beyond sorry this took so long' dude. i was on vacation. w/o a computer. T_T BUT, i have a new com, BRAND new, 1.5 tb hardrive! that doesn't have the program i used to use...and all my files were corrupted...and i had to convert EVERYTHING. ONE. BY. ONE... but the speed is SO worth it. XD**

**ANYWAY, enjoy the new chappie! (And I'm very sorry for the people who thought/wanted Danny in for the long run. he'll come back, it's imperative he does...but not for like three chapters. MAYBE two.) Crappy chapter name is crappy(The scheme I am/was trying to use isn't helping. XD)**

**Disclaimer: I have nothing witty to say, but i do not own.**

Chapter 5

Preperations

Considering how fast Danny could fly, and the fact he didn't have to deal with traffic, they made it to the obnoxiously obvious statement that was Fentonworks in pretty good time. Of course, the Fentons were _probably _tipped off that they weren't human, and would come after them now, not to mention they would probably shoot on sight. Oh well, better than staying there to be interrogated and/or experimented on.

"What is that?" The Doctor couldn't help but be a little bit surprised that the Fentons practically had a spaceship sitting on top of their house. He wasn't sure, but that monstrosity _must _have defied a few American zoning laws.

"Oh, it's just the Emergency Ops Center. It's Fentonwork's ghost defense system, I guess," Danny explained. "Its got a ghost shield generator that could cover half the town in an emergency, and a bunch of other anti-ghost _and _anti-human gadgets."

The Doctor let out a whistle as they got closer and he could actually see the Ops Center. Clockwork wasn't kidding when he said the Fentons were years ahead of their time with technology.

As they got close enough, Danny flew towards the roof and tried to go intangibly through the building. Needless to say, 'tried' does not mean he succeeded. No, they hit the gravel covering the roof at a solid speed that sent them flying apart. Danny skidded for a few feet forward as the Doctor and Clockwork were thrown to either side.

"Daniel," Clockwork drawled, picking himself up an brushing off the gravel.

"Yeah?" The boy asked slowly, standing up as well.

"Do you think that maybe your parents turned on the main house's ghost shield before they left?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, sorry," Danny mumbled dryly. "That wasn't the smartest move."

The Doctor got to his feet as the exchange took place, dusting himself off. "Well, shield or not, we're here aren't we? Besides, I've had worse scrapes." Spying the door on the roof that led to the lower floors, he smiled and dashed over. He was getting a bit excited again- these people were brilliant! Oh, he'd love to ask them about the Ops Center and how it worked, with the given that they wouldn't shoot anybody. But still, this was advanced technology for the year! "Come on, men! Allons-y!"

Danny walked over to the now-standing Clockwork, eying the Doctor suspiciously. "Is he always this…weird?"

"Unfortunately," Clockwork grunted, following the Doctor to the door. "Besides, Daniel, you are in no position to be calling other people 'weird'."

"Point," Danny huffed, changing back.

Clockwork paused at the door, watching the Doctor give a quick look around at the bottom of the stairs. "You need to turn the shield off so I can get in."

"Wha-" Danny paused for half a second before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck in that habit of his. "Oh, right, that." He dashed down the stairs, past the Doctor and towards a control panel on the wall. That was lacking shield controls.

"Jazz!" He called out, still looking at the controls, the Doctor watching over his shoulder. "Did Dad move the shield controls again!?

"Yeah, why-" Jazz came out of her room and locked eyes on the Doctor, who turned to her, a friendly smile blooming on his face.

"Oh, 'allo there, are you Danny's sister? Wonderful to meet you, I'm the Doctor." He held out a hand and took note of how she immediately put up her guard and eyed him warily.

"Danny, why's there a strange man with you?" She paused, not taking the proffered hand. Soon, she realized something else. "And why do you need to put the shield down if you're already in here?"

"Uh…" Danny fumbled, glancing between the two of them, the Doctor dropping his hand with a small frown.

"Can this sibling argument wait? There really could be a better time for this," Clockwork told them from the top of the stairs. "Doctor, go check the fridge for the switch."

"The fridge?" The Doctor spun to look up at him. "Why put a control switch-"

"Just trust me."

With a moment of hesitation, the Doctor shrugged and ran off for the stairs down to the main floor. Jazz moved to stop him, but Danny got in the way.

"Listen, Jazz, this is important. He's a friend…I guess." Danny hesitated the last part, but added it anyway.

"You guess?"Jazz nearly yelled. "Danny, you can't trust people on a hunch, not with…you know, what you do." She was going into protective mode now. "How do you know he's not here to turn you in or something?"

"Because I trust who he's with, and since he's okay with the Doctor, so am I," Danny protested, walking after the Doctor.

Jazz grabbed his shoulder and spun hi around. "Who?"

"Me." They both jumped a little when Clockwork appeared at the foot of the stairs. "Seems like the Doctor found the shield controls. Hello Jasmine," He said conversationally, walking past them and down the stairs.

He found the Doctor standing in the kitchen with one piece of Jack's fudge in his hand, chewing another. "Mmh, I figured Jack had a whole plate labeled for him in there-" He swallowed. "He won't miss a couple pieces."

Clockwork chuckled, taking the other piece before the Doctor could eat it. "Oh, he will," He popped the piece in his mouth. "But not for a while."

"Could someone please explain to me what the _heck _is going on!?" They turned to see Jazz standing in the door frame, more than a little angry and confused. Danny was behind her trying to calm her down with little success. "Who _are _you two and what the heck are you doing in our house?!"

"Jazz, come on, they're-"

"One of them's a ghost, Danny-"

"Yeah, but-"

"Quiet!" Clockwork commanded, silencing the siblings. "Both of you. I know you're brother and sister, but now is not the time. I'd prefer to get out of here before your parents come back. Jasmine-" He caught her attention, and she was only barely holding back another argument or interrogation. "I am Clockwork. I was the one that helped Danny during the C.A.T. incident."

A look of recognition passed over her face as she relaxed slightly. "What? I mean, Danny told me about you but, why are you here? What's the problem?"

Clockwork only looked pointedly at the Doctor, who blinked before smiling again. "Ah, right, that'd be me I suppose. Bit of a mix up with-"

"I suppose _some _explanation is needed," Clockwork interrupted, going down to the lab, the other three following. "The Doctor is a being from an alternate universe. Somehow, he broke through the barriers between universes and ended up here, and cannot get back by his normal means."

"Right, I was- Oh!" He stopped at the entrance of the lab, looking around in awe. "Oh, this. Is. Brilliant!" Then he was dashing around the lab, studying the tables, barely pausing a beat before moving on. "For humans to have this kind of technology at only the 21stcentury- how is it possible? They must be geniuses! And what powers some of these? Is that a hover-car? That is brilliant!"He was now looking over the Spectre Speeder, grinning like a kid in a candy store.

Caught off guard by his eccentricities, the kids were watching him warily from the foot of the stairs. Clockwork only smirked and took the keys for the Spectre Speeder from a counter nearby. Already on high alert, elder sibling didn't miss this.

"What are you doing?" She snapped, marching over to him. She looked nearly ready to grab the keys and give them the boot, if not for her brother's trust in him. "If from what Danny's told me is anything to go by, you shouldn't need the Specter Speeder to get anywhere, let alone use our portal!"

Clockwork looked at her calmly, unlocking the doors to the machine. "Normally, your assumptions would be right, but at the moment I can't use my powers," Completely ignoring the flabbergasted teen, he continued. "The Speeder will be back before the end of the day, at most. And no, Daniel, you cannot come along."

Danny, who had been just about to jump in the Speeder froze, the Doctor peeking out form the passenger seat. "What? Why not!" He let go of the door handle, turning to them. "Whatever it is I bet I could help! And-"

"Daniel," Clockwork stopped him, giving him a stern look. Danny shifted under his focus, recognizing now the no-nonsense tone in his voice. He'd gotten it enough times before, when he'd talked to Clockwork on other occasions. "You can _not _come. Do not push me, and do not try to follow. There's many reasons why not, the least of which being your parents."

"But Jazz-"

"Could convince them you are safe, yes, but the fact you are the only person in the house that would even think to touch your father's sweets, they were disturbed, and the Speeder is missing in the time both of you were gone, would leave your mother at least suspicious." The boy was speechless for a moment, working the logic through his head. "Not to mention they are on high alert what with the fiasco at the Nasty Burger." Jazz gave the two of them a worried look as Clockwork got into the driver's seat.

"What-"

"I was in the building as they pulled up with a scanner." Clockwork interrupted, yet again.

She scowled at the ghost, who had started smirking again. "Would you-!"

"Ask Danny."

Jazz huffed and raised an eyebrow at her little brother. Danny frowned and sighed. "That's Clockwork for 'No'."

Both the passengers of the Speeder could help but laugh at their expressions. The Doctor glanced at the annoyed teens and couldn't help but decide to give them a little revenge.

With a smirk and a laugh, he dished it out. "Tend to be rude to the kids, Clocky-boy?"

Clockwork immediately lost all semblance of a smile as Danny physically had to restrain himself from laughing. There were poorly-contained snorts as the Time Ghost glared at the Doctor, eyes going red again. "Don't call me that," He warned.

"Oooh, using the 'scary eyes' again, are we?" The Doctor threw back, unable to stop a chuckle. "It didn't really work the first time, Clocky-boy, and it's not working now. I've seen scarier things than you, _Clocky-boy_." He stressed the name, grinning with every sign of the ghost's annoyance.

"_Doctor,_" Clockwork growled, now focusing on starting the Spectre Speeder to distract himself. "Don't. _Tempt_. Me." He was _not _going to snap, he was _not _going to throw the Doctor out of the Speeder on his butt, and he was _certainly_ not going to plot a way to get back at him some time soon. …Eh, two out of three won't be that bad.

Danny had lost it at the second usage of the nickname and was trying to laugh as quietly as possible from the Doctor's side of the vehicle. Clockwork was a very respectable, powerful figure, and Danny was generally respectful to him, save the occasional poorly executed joke. Hearing someone as unfamiliar with the being call the Ghost of Time 'Clocky-boy' so off-offhandedly was admittedly hilarious. It also said something about the Doctor: either he was cocky as hell, or had little-to-no self-preservation instinct. Or it could've been both. Danny apparently misplaced his self-preservation skills too, since he wasn't doing such a good job of keeping quiet. He looked up in time to see Clockwork shift his glare to him over the Doctor's shoulder. It served the job of sobering him up very well. He hid the last of his giggles with a cough before turning red and rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle.

"Ahem, uh, yeah." He stuttered, backing away.

Clockwork sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as the Doctor just kept grinning next to him. "Anyway, we need to be going before your parents make an entrance." He gave Jazz a pointed look. "Please don't let Danny follow us, I know he'll try. The Doctor is enough of a problem to deal with."

"Hey!"

Jazz merely glanced at the Doctor, and then back at Clockwork. "Fine. But the Speeder-"

"Will be back in perfect condition before the night is out." The corner of his mouth twitched in threat of a smile, but Jazz pushed past her annoyance quickly. There were some things she wanted to know before they left. Grabbing onto the still open window, she caught Clockwork's attention again.

"How long have you known this Doctor guy?" She asked quietly.

Clockwork, taken by surprise for once, cocked an eyebrow. "Only since this morning. He didn't even exist in this universe before then."

Jazz blinked glancing back at the Time Lord, who was saying something to Danny. "Then why do you act so close to one another?"

"…What?" Clockwork did not like being surprised, and frankly, this day _alone _was meeting his quota of 'surprised and/or confused' for the whole millennium. It took him only a moment more to process what she had said, but Jazz was already elaborating.

"I know Danny's the one that knows you better, but…You two seem very similar- you have a lot of confidence and pride, carry yourselves like you own the place, and choose your words pretty carefully," She frowned for a moment before barreling on. "And yet, for knowing each other for what could only be a few hours, you're innately comfortable in the other's presence and bicker and fight like siblings, and are open with and to each other more than you are to us, so far as I've seen- your expressions, your word choice, your tone of voice, all of it seems less guarded when talking to each other from what I caught. Also, you two like showing your generous intelligence when it suits you to confuse people, and use it to your advantage when needed- not to mention, you both…" She paused, looking him in the eye for one of the few times since they came, glancing at the Doctor as well. "You're both…I don't know how to explain it. Your eyes- when I caught it- it's like the look Danny gets after a really bad fight but ten-fold and it never leaves, it only hides when you think someone's watching, and sometimes it doesn't when looking at each other." Clockwork only stared at her. The psychologist in the girl was trying to find the right term, the right word, but PTSD wasn't quite right and nothing she could name came close, and she hadn't really _seen_ it, just caught the impression, but it was there.

Clockwork sighed. She was perceptive. Or he was slipping. He was half surprised she saw it, and half really confused. Not about what she said- he had seen too, but had hoped if he ignored it, it would turn out to be just his imagination. But no, that was not the case. Had she seen it, whatever it was that was happening, because she was a budding psychiatrist, or because they were both slipping off the masks they wore around each other more and more, and she was just quick enough to see them shift? Either way, it was not something to confront right now, and certainly not with Jazz. But as he looked back up he knew she needed some sort of answer.

"Time is a heavy burden, Jasmine," He murmured, not looking at her. "We need to go," He said a bit louder, catching the others' attention. "Your parents have had plenty of time to-"

There was a loud sound of banging doors before Jack Fenton's voice reverberated through the building, crystal-clear. **"Kids, stay calm, there might be a ghost in the house!"**

There was a sigh between the Fenton kids as the Doctor leaned out the window to glance at the staircase.

"I suppose that would be our cue to leave, eh?" He muttered, leaning back in the cabin.

"The saying 'speak of the devil' comes to mind, but yes."

"Well then," He said, giving the kids a wave as the Speeder edged towards the portal. "Time to go to the Ghost Zone! Allons-y!"

"Are you going to ride the whole way there with your face pressed against the glass like a 5-year-old?" It was maybe the third time he had asked the question in varying ways since they lost sight of the Fenton Portal. And every time, he'd get a response similar to-

"Well, can I help it? This is absolutely brilliant! No, I mean, really, look at what this is! A bubble dimension connected to the physical plane of Earth and practically reversing physics on humans and ghosts! Well, for all intents and purposes that's it I'm guessing. And I can see why you were unimpressed with the TARDIS's dimensionally transcendental technology if every door is a lair- not to mention the portal itself- So, no, wait, it's dimensions inside of a larger dimension attached to the- the- What do you call the normal one?"

Clockwork rolled his eyes. "The Human World, or the Mortal World, mostly. Some other ghosts have more…creative names, but that is what is generally used, along with just saying Earth occasionally."

"Okay, so is it the Human World is attached to the Ghost Zone or-"

"Neither. The Ghost Zone has existed as long as the Human World has," Clockwork interrupted him, but the Doctor didn't mind. It actually was convenient that Clockwork didn't care about interrupting him since he tended to ramble if left to talk. "If either were to be destroyed, the other would quickly follow suit. The two worlds are heavily influenced by each other- Major changes in either world affect the other. If part of Earth was destroyed, a part of the Ghost Zone would be destroyed with it. If a war broke out in the Ghost Zone, the Human World would suffer war as well- And vice versa."

"Co-dependency, but even going so far as to copy ecological happenings like war. Oh, that's brilliant, can't have one without the other, so it keeps them from destroying each other!" The Doctor praised, smiling again.

Clockwork paused and corrected him. "Not so much."

"What?" The Doctor cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Even though the signs are obvious to most paranormal scientists, humans absolutely refuse to accept that our world is natural- that ghosts are supposed to exist," He sighed and shook his head. "Most think ghosts and the ghost zone are an anomaly in nature, insentient unnatural clumps of matter, the Ghost Zone a mistake that needs to be erased. They're very thick about anything outside of those beliefs."

"Because it would mean they've been hurting what could be acquainted to another human being," The Doctor added, nodding as he realized this.

"Essentially, yes."

They lapsed into quiet. It wasn't a bad quiet, like an awkward pause when something needs to be said but no one would talk. It was actually a fairly comfortable silence. The Doctor didn't usually have times like that, when he was quiet and it wasn't because he was sad or tired or angry, when he was perfectly content, since he usually thought out loud or had to fill his thoughts with info to keep them from drifting. To keep the memories catching up. But this time, it was nice- like a breather.

The Doctor glanced at Clockwork. Would it be rude to ask- Wait, when did he last care about being rude? Well, he did like Clockwork fairly well, and didn't really want to upset him. He'd already done enough of that. And there went the breather of content silence. Screw it, now he needed to talk about something."What is your life- well, after-life-"

"You don't have to worry about the semantics of it, Doctor," Clockwork corrected, glancing at him with a smirk.

The Doctor smiled, before getting back to his question. "Right, okay then. What is your life like?"

"What?" Clockwork cocked an eyebrow at him, caught off guard.

"Well, you're -well, important, obviously. Powerful, and old, but you don't- you don't seem to be the adventuring type, and the Observants sound like they're not too much fun to work with," The Doctor said, not really explaining.

"Believe me, they're not." The ghost said, half jokingly.

"Yes, well, I just mean…you don't really live your life, do you?" He paused, then suddenly got flustered when Clockwork gave him a soundless, questioning look. "Sorry if that's a bit personal, or rude- am I being rude? I usually can't tell if I am, and then I start to ramble, but ah…" He decided he was rambling again, and it would just be best to be quiet and wait for an answer. Or more silence.

Clockwork didn't look at him for a few seconds. He seemed to be choosing his words again. Finally, he sighed, looking at the Doctor again. "…Doctor, that is a complicated thing to think of. I don't know if I'm even able to die- by age obviously not, by human ways wouldn't work either, and ghost hunters couldn't catch me if they tried, and they have. Nearly everyone in this universe, I know- their past, present, and possible futures. The happiest road for one person might not be the best in the world's long term. I have had to let bad things happen for the good of the whole world. I can't become close to anyone, because I know how horrible that idea would be in the long run." Clockwork finished by turning away, not looking at him.

"What about Danny? He seemed pretty comfortable around you," The Doctor suggested, frowning.

"Danny is…complicated," Clockwork started slowly. "I interfered in his time stream in a way that wasn't to the Observants liking- the boy would have grown up to be the most powerful and evil ghost in history. They wanted me to kill him, so I showed him his future and saved him and his family, therefore he is now my responsibility if he goes down the wrong path. I guide him, but there will still be a time when he _will _die, and I can't let myself become attached. I'm sure in your travels, you've lost people you love, Doctor. I can't worry about my own wishes when I watch over the time stream."

The Doctor looked away, and they were quiet again for a minute. The Doctor didn't look up as he started again. "I…I've lost many people in my time, Clockwork. Most of my companions were human. Some of them left me, some of them I had to leave behind, and…yes, some died. My people are gone as well, dead because of me. But I know, I can't let myself get cold. I help people, all the time. I keep someone with me to remind me of all the good in the world and how it's worth saving- even though I know I'll probably lose them later. Because as bad as it is to lose them, it would be worse to have no one at all."

"Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all," Clockwork supplied.

"I suppose so," The Doctor murmured.

Clockwork was quiet for a moment. "Like Rose?" He ventured.

A beat of dead silence.

"How did you-" The Doctor started, Clockwork quickly stopping him.

"I heard her name," That psychic incident again. "I didn't bring it up because I saw that there was a lot of sadness and guilt over her- you loved her, didn't you?"

The Doctor didn't say a word, and when Clockwork looked he saw a blank face. He was trying not to break. He gave a sad smile, looking away again.

"For an alien, you act very human sometimes," He joked. The Doctor didn't say anything. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Doctor, I'm only making a point. Getting close to someone will only hurt me, and might even tempt me to twist things to my will- which shouldn't ever happen. Besides, even if I wanted to become friends with someone, the Observants would take it as a breach of contract. I would be affecting the time stream in a way they couldn't predict, since their powers don't work on me, as mine don't on them."

The Doctor grunted shortly in understanding. After a moment, he perked up, his whole posture coming back to that happy manic spark. He turned to Clockwork with a smile. "Well," He drawled. "Their powers don't work on me, do they?"

"…No?" Clockwork answered cautiously. "What are you getting at, Doctor?"

"And, I'm not part of _this _time stream, am I? Not human, and I don't think they ever accounted for aliens." He kept going, smiling like he'd just solved a great puzzle.

"Doctor, what-"

"Well, why can't I be your one friend?"

"What?" Clockwork didn't even know how to respond otherwise. He was shocked and confused, and, if he was perfectly honest with himself, just a little tiny bit hopeful about the Doctor even bringing this up.

"Come on now, it's a bit unfair to you," The Doctor started, giving him a sympathetic look. "You've got this huge responsibility and the Observants on your back, and not one friend in the world to count on. But I'm not from this world, am I? Besides, nobody deserves to be totally alone forever, no matter what they've done or what they'll grow into. At least, that's what I'll believe."

The Doctor waited for a reply, a small smile on his face, but Clockwork almost looked like he'd froze.

The Doctor's smile dropped, turning into a bit of worry. "If you don't like me, you can just say so, I can handle it. And if it's these Observants, they sound very rules-oriented, and I don't really think I apply to the rules of this world since I'm not from here. Not to mention, I'm not scared of them. I've dealt with my fair share of unfair councils, I'm perfectly capable of dealing with them." He paused again, but the ghost still wasn't moving. "I've lived 900 years, I'll live for quite a bit more. You don't have to worry about affecting my time stream, it's complicated enough as it is, and I'm sure it'll go through a heck of a lot more." Still nothing.

"Clockwork," His voice was actually stern, now. The time ghost looked at him now, saw his face melt from stern and worried, to hopeful and caring. "Just because you've got a lot of responsibility, doesn't mean you have to tackle it all alone- no matter what anyone else says. Now!" He had been leaning down a bit, to be at his eye level since the Doctor was a good four inches taller, but now he straightened up, getting that 100-watt grin again. "I _will be your friend_, from here on out. No complaining now, you're stuck with me." His smile turned compassionate now, getting Clockwork to straighten up. "We're friends, you got that? And nothing anyone says is going to make me change my mind."

Clockwork gave him a tired but happy chuckle, shaking his head at this impossible man. "Fine, Doctor. If you insist."

But he didn't have to.


End file.
